


Behind the Hills

by CateWolfe



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Battle of the Hornburg, Character Study, Gen, The Glittering Caves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:20:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28280793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CateWolfe/pseuds/CateWolfe
Summary: Deep in the Glittering Caves, Eowyn waits.Written for Tolkien Secret Santa 2020.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11
Collections: Tolkien Secret Santa 2020





	Behind the Hills

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dernhelm49](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dernhelm49/gifts).



It is raining.

Even through a hundred feet of rock, Éowyn can hear the thunder.

(Is it thunder? They must have walked a mile or more beneath the earth, between thousands of glimmering columns, then through the dark, labrynthine tunnels. Not even the wisest here could say what it is that lies on the surface above them.)

In childhood, when Mother and Father were still alive, thunder had been a lovely thing— it was the sound of Béma’s Hunt, of knowing that some evil thing would be gone in the morning. Now it is only loud.

Éowyn’s fingers are red. Already she has undone and rebraided her hair five times— her hair rasps against her fingers, now, but she keeps on anyway. It is cold in the caves, too; colder than March has ever been before. Perhaps this is where winter came to hide.

Being in the caves is maddening. The greatest battle in five hundred years is so close—  _ so close— _ and all Éowyn can do is wait.

She finishes her sixth braid, the most intricate so far, and begins to undo it again.

The people look to her to lead them, but she can offer them nothing. Food had been brought down, perhaps enough for a week, but nobody will eat.

A baby is crying. (A baby is always crying.)

If the Hornburg falls, they will not know. (They will only hear the orcs shouting in the tunnels, and by then there will be no escape.)

Thunder cracks again. (It must be thunder. It has to be thunder. Surely the enemy’s devices cannot make such a sound.)

Éowyn finishes her seventh braid.

Théoden sends a messenger, when the battle is ended. He is a scrawny, unassuming lad of about sixteen, but his right arm is tightly bound, and his eyes are colorless and haunted.

The people of Rohan make their way out of the caves, bringing with them all the food that had been brought down. There had been miracles, they are told, on the last day; light unlooked-for, and the very forest as their allies.

Erkenbrand means well when he asks why none of the food was eaten.

“It was cold,” says Éowyn, and she speaks no more of it.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is a phrase from the Lament for the Rohirrim.
> 
> Being stuck in the Glittering Caves during the Battle of the Hornburg seems like it would have been a dreadful experience, especially for someone in Éowyn's situation. Hopefully I've managed to communicate some of that here.
> 
> To thegirlwhohid, I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoy reading it!


End file.
